Littlest Pet Fantasy VII (Disc 1)
by CanzetYote
Summary: Littlest Pet Shop parody of Final Fantasy 7. Russell Fergustrife and all his lovable pet friends go an epic journey to stop Largest Ever Pet Shop and the dreaded Shahrukoth.
1. Bombing Mission

**NOTE:** _After playing and finishing a Littlest Pet Shop rename version of Final Fantasy VII, I decided to do an AU parody story of the game with the LPS characters in the shoes of the FF7 characters. I'll admit, it's kinda hard to meld the personalities together but I think I matched the characters pretty well. I still gotta find a role for Hojo, Zack, Palmer, Jenova and a few others. Not sure if I should cast the Biskitt Twins as two Rufuses or as Heideggar and Scarlet (Fisher Biskit is obviously President Shinra). A few OCs will be thrown in here and there but mostly for minor characters and NPCs. Some parts are consistent with the FF7 script while other parts I made up on the fly to be more true to the LPS characters' personalities. As you know from the summary description, I decided to spoil that early on Shahrukh will be cast as the main villain, Sephiroth. He'll be called Shahrukoth and I do NOT regret that, no matter how cheesy it is. Also, mako reactors are replaced by boring old pollution factories and Materia grows on trees and is harvested. Feel free to read and review. Enjoy!_

Somewhere, in the slums of Downtown City, a pink monkey was walking with a basket of flowers in her hand. She gazed at the sights of the dark, dreary place but she knew it was a place where she could defend herself as she was no stranger to the streets. Pets of all sorts zoomed past her on bikes and the camera panned out to see an aerial view of Downtown City and a large logo with a meteor on it appeared on the screen saying "Littlest Pet Fantasy VII."

The camera zoomed down to a train station where a train was pulling up to a station next to a factory. An orange hedgehog and green gecko along with a trio of hamsters hopped off the train. The gecko motioned to the hedgehog, "Come on, newcomer. We got a mission to complete."

The gecko and hamsters dashed off as the hedgehog rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. I gotcha."

As the hedgehog dashed down the train platform after the gecko, suddenly a pair of German Shepherds in police uniform chased after him. Turning around, the orange hedgehog plucked an abnormally large quill from his back and diced the two dogs to ribbons. Kneeling down, the hedgehog pocketed two potions and then dashed after the gecko.

When he finally caught up to them, the hamsters were picking a lock on the door to the factory while the gecko supervised them, "It's about time you got here!"

"Sorry, a couple dogs wanted to make kibble out of me back there." The orange hedgehog replied.

"What's your name, by the way?" The gecko asked.

The hedgehog smiled, "Russell Fergustrife, and you are?"

"Vinnie Wallio." The gecko replied, shaking Russell's paw with his gun-arm.

Russell sighed, "Let's just get this mission over with before the Biskits catch us."

The female of the three hamsters finished opening the door and they all dashed in. As they were running, Russell turned to Vinnie and asked him a question, "So, what are the hamsters' names?"

Vinnie rubbed him chin, "Uhhhh...the tough looking one is Brad, the fat one is Walt and the girl one is Jessica. I...uh think."

Russell raised an eyebrow, "You think?"

Vinnie shrugged, "Well, that or their names are Biggs, Wedge and Jessie."

Russell facepalmed and was about to make a sarcastic remark when another pair of police dogs dashed around the corner towards the hedgehog and reptile. A random battle occured and Russell quickly diced up one of the dogs with his quill-sword while Vinnie shot the other one up with his gun-arm. The hedgehog and gecko did a victory dance and collected some money from the battle.

They quickly dashed into a room with a T-shaped bridge and Walt headed straight, "I'll cover the emergency exit, guys. Good luck on the mission!"

Russell, Vinnie, Jessica and Brad took a turn on the bridge and headed straight to the factory. Once they got in, Vinnie turned to Russell, "This your first time in a factory?"

Russell shook his head, "No, I used to work for Largest Ever Pet Shop, you know."

"Every day, the factories pollute the air and make the pets and people of Downtown City sick." Vinnie explained.

Russell rolled his eyes, "Please, Vinnie. All I want to do is get the job done, get my pay and rest in a clean, non-messy bed."

The gecko crossed his arms snd scowled at the orange hedgehog, "That's it, your coming with ME from here on out."

Brad pressed a button and a door opened, "Code deciphered."

Russell and Vinnie ran through the door and Jessica pressed another button to open another door, "Code deciphered."

The hedgehog and gecko dashed through the door and made their way into an elevator. Russell pressed down and the elevator started descending. Vinnie turned and looked at Russell, "Russell, you realize all this pollution the Biskitts are pumping out is bad for the...uh...what's the word I'm looking for?"

Russell blinked, "Environment?"

Vinnie nodded, "Yeah, uh...that's the word."

Russell groaned a little, "Like I said before, let's get this job done before the Biskits and Monban catches us."

Vinnie sighed, "You know, you really should enjoy nature more."

The elevator stopped and opened up and instantly, Russell and Vinnie were greeted by a couple men with steel masks who wore scuba suits and had cannons on their hands, "HALT RIGHT THERE!"

"Grunts..." Russell grumbled, drawing his quill sword and charging and slashing one. The other grunt began firing lasers at Russell with his cannon but the hedgehog blocked the attack with his quill sword.

Vinnie ducked between the other grunt's legs and shot him in the butt with his gun arm, causing the diver-esq man to groan and fall face first on the ground. Vinnie chuckled a bit, "Hahaha. I guess I busted a cap in your"

Vinnie's sentence was cut short by a floating jellyfish creature, a Mono Drive ramming the back of the gecko's head. Russell finished slashing the grunt and went after the Mono Drive, slicing the creature in two with his quill. Russell picked the gecko up, "You all right, Vinnie?"

"Yes, grandma, I'd love to eat some gingerbread cookies for Halloween." Vinnie mumbled woozily. The hedgehog gave the gecko one of the potions he took off the downed police dogs and Vinnie snapped out of it and they descended down a couple flights of stairs and into another room.

Russell and Vinnie jumped over a gap and climbed down a ladder, coming face to face with Jessica. Vinnie smiled at the hamster, "Jessica, did you short out the beep beep sound thingies?"

Jessica smiled and nodded, "Of course I did, Vinnie. By the way, they're called alarms."

"Oh...uh...I knew that." Vinnie replied dumbly.

"Sure you did." Russell replied sarcastically as he rolled his yellow-green eyes.

"I'll wait for you up here if you need me." Jessica replied, "Do you have the bomb ready?"

"Course I do." Vinnie replied as he pulled a device out of the vest he was wearing and ran his fingers over the detonation button.

Russell let out a girly scream, "Be careful, that's a BOMB!"

Vinnie chuckled a bit, "Just messin with ya, Russy-boy!"

"Russy-boy? RUSSY-BOY!?" Russell growled, "What kind of a nickname is THAT?"

"A funny one." Vinnie replied as he added a stupid laugh.

Russell sighed, "I'm surprised YOU'RE the one in charge here, let's just get on with this mission."

"Okay." Vinnie replied. The two then climbed down another ladder and onto a pipe which they crossed and climbed down another ladder. Russell and Vinnie turned and noticed a save point and the gecko spoke up, "Uhhh...what is that question mark thingy? Can I use it to practice dance steps?"

"That, Vinnie, is a save point." Russell explained, "We use it to save our game so we don't have to go through all that riff raff again."

"Uhh...okay...um...can I still use it to practice dance steps?" Vinnie asked.

Russell facepalmed in response, "Let's just save our game."

After saving the game, Russell and Vinnie level grinded a bit and got a bunch of cash from battles. Healing up and saving again, they walked across the bridge only to be stopped by a large yellow machine with guns for arms. Vinnie cowered behind Russell, "What on Earth is THAT?"

"A Sweeper." Russell replied, drawing his quill sword.

Vinnie raised an eyebrow, "But...it doesn't look like a vacuum cleaner!"

"Not THAT kind of sweeper, Vinnie!" Russell replied as he shoved his quill into one of the Sweeper's guns, causing it to jam.

The Sweeper's gun hand exploded as Vinnie riddled the robot with bullets from his own gun hand. With one final slash from Russell's quill, the machine exploded into a mass of scrap metal.

Without a word, the two dashed across the rest ofthe bridge and Russell spotted a green marble laying in the middle of the bridge, "Well, what do ya know? A Restore Materia! This one's going in the bag."

Vinnie blinked, "What's Materia?"

"You still have a lot to learn, my gecko friend." The hedgehog chuckled as he stored the Materia in his bag.

Vinnie simply shrugged as Russell approached the factory core with the bomb in his paw. The gecko spoke up, "I'm gonna stay here and watch just so you don't pull anything funny."

Russell rolled his eyes and suddenly an alarm began to sound when he placed the bomb on the core. The hegehog turned and faced Vinnie, "It's coming!"

"What?" Vinnie asked.

Russell pointed to the ceiling, "THAT THING!"

Vinnie looked up and suddenly, a giant robot scorpion landed in front of them. Russell drew his quill and Vinnie readied his gun arm. The scorpion began to spray the two with harmless blasts of air and Vinnie giggled, "Hey, that tickles!"

"Uh...Vinnie, I don't think he's tickling us. He's targeting us!" Russell replied as he dashed up to the scorpion robot and slashed it's legs.

Vinnie blinked stupidly, "Uhhh...well in that case, it's gunnin' time!"

Vinnie aimed his gun arm and started shooting at the scorpion and it turned around and thrust its tail at Vinnie, causing his gun arm to jam, "Uhhh...Russell, it's tail is stuck in my arm!"

Russell facepalmed and grabbed onto Vinnie, "All right, all right. I'll pull you loose." The hedgehog yanked Vinnie so hard that the gecko's gun arm came off, "HEY! GIMME BACK MY ARM!"

Suddenly, the scorpion raised it's tail in a threatening manner above it's head and Russell turned to Vinnie, "Vinnie, be careful! If you attack while its tail is up-"

"Got it!" Vinnie shouted as he dashed at the Guard Scorpion, pummelling it with a series of punches. Instantly, a blue laser shot out of the tail and fried Vinnie and Russell.

"YOU DIDN'T LET ME FINISH MY SENTENCE, YOU IDIOT!" Russell screamed, his limit gauge reaching its max, "It's a good thing I hit my Limit Break. Time to finish this!"

And with that, Russell used his Braver attack, jumping up into the air and coming down on the robot scorpion, effectively cleaving it in two. Vinnie looked surprised, "Wow! That was...AWESOME! DOITAGAIN DOITAGAIN DOITAGAIN!"

Russell blinked, "First I gotta wait for my limit gauge to fill up again. I gotta get slapped around a little first."

Vinnie turned his attention to a new gun arm on the ground, "Oh, cool! A replacement! It's just like when I lose my tail!" The gecko pointed his new gun arm at Russell.

Russell's eyes widened in shock, "Uh...Vinnie, please put that away. Are you TRYING to shoot me just so you can see me use my limit break again? It doesn't work that way."

Vinnie chuckled a bit, "Aw, come on Russy-boy. Just messin with ya."

Suddenly, an electronic voice boomed through the factory, "10 minutes to detonation."

Russell turned to Vinnie, "We gotta get out of here!"

And with that, the hedgehog and gecko climbed up the latters to the next room. Russell noticed that Jessica got her leg stuck and pulled her free and the three climbed up the ladder and backtracked to the next room. As they ran up the stairs to the elevator, they were chased by more scuba diver-esq grunts. Vinnie turned around and started shooting at them but Russell yanked the lizard away, "We don't have time for that, this place is gonna blow!"

And with that, the three entered the elevator and Jessica pressed the up switch. When it reached the top they all dashed out of the elevator and into the main room. Jessica and Brad were quick to open the doors and the four of them made a mad dash for the bridge. Making a right, they took cover with Walt and went into an underground shelter and with that, the factory exploded into a massive ball of fire.

As they were underground, Brad spoke up, "That should make the air a little cleaner."

"Yeah." Vinnie nodded in agreement. And with that they all dashed out of the shelter and into the streets of Downtown City.

Suddenly, the shelter exploded and flames were coming from it. The hedgehog, gecko and 3 hamsters watched the fire burn a big and then Vinnie spoke up, "All right, everyone split up and meet up at Littlest Pet Shop."

"But what about?" Russell started but was cut off by Vinnie, "If it's about your pay, save it for later."

And with that, they all dashed off except for Russell. As the hedgehog walked the streets, he noticed a pink monkey holding a basket a flowers. The monkey hopped up to him and held out a flower, "Hi, there! Wanna buy a flower? They're only one buck and I need it for art supplies!"

Russell sighed and shrugged, "Oh, all right. I guess." The hedgehog handed over the dollar and the pink monkey gave him a flower, "Here ya go!"

And with that, Russell put the flower in his bag and the monkey walked off. He turned his attention past the alley and walked his way onto a main street. Suddenly, he was approached by a police dog, "Hey, you!"

The hedgehog drew his sword and jumped back as the two dogs readied their guns, "Look, I don't have time for this."

Suddenly, more police dogs began to surround the hedgehog, "GRAB HIM!"

Russell looked around and saw a train passing under the street bridge he was on. Curling up into a ball, Russell rolled off the street and onto the speeding train.

Meanwhile, Vinnie and the hamsters were in the train talking about Russell. Jessica was speaking, "Vinnie...do you think Russell will stay with us to the end?"

Vinnie shrugged, "How am I supposed to know? I'm not a psychic!"

Walt whimpered a bit, "Hey, Vinnie, when are we getting our pay?"

Vinnie sighed, "When I give up dancing."

"And when is that?" Walt asked.

"NEVER!" Vinnie replied and then Walt started to sob a little. The gecko frowned, "Awww...come on, I was only playing with ya!"

Suddenly, Russell opened the door and jumped in the train, much to everyone's surprise. Brushing himself off, the hedgehog chuckled a bit, "I...guess I kinda got lost."

Vinnie crossed his arms, "Lost? LOST!? That does it, I am SO docking your paycheck, hot shot!"

Russell sighed as Vinnie, Walt and Brad moved into the main train. Jessica walked up to Russell and helped clean some dirt off his face with a rag, "Oh, Russell, your dirty."

Russell blinked and stared at the pitch black rag, "So...that dirt was on my face?"

Jessica nodded, "Well, you just escaped a bomb blast, didn't you?"

Russell whimpered a little bit and curled up in a fetal position, "So...many...germs...so...many...germs."

Jessica handed the traumatized hedgehog a bottle of hand sanitizer, "This should help you out."

Instantly, Russell dumped the whole bottle all over his body and began rubbing it. Jessica smiled, "Feel better now, Russell?"

Russell smiled, "Yeah. Thanks, Jessica..."

And with that, Russell and Jessica joined Vinnie and the others in the next train car.

A ferret looked around and noticed Vinnie and the three hamsters. He put a paw on his face and mumbled to himself, "Hoo boy...I hate it when they're on the train..."

Russell sat down next to Walt and the pudgy hamster turned to the orange hedgehog, "Someday, Vinnie will be famous and me, too. Russell, do you think I have a good future in store for me?"

Russell shrugged, "Don't really know. Depends on what you do in life, I guess."

Walt sighed, "All my life, I've felt like nothing but a sidekick. It would be nice to break out into the spotlight for once."

Jessica looked over to a monitor that was on the wall of the train, "Hey, Russell, I'd like you to check this out. I love this kind of stuff. Bombs, monitors, flashy stuff, you know."

Russell approached Jessica and the two stared at the monitor as the female hamster spoke, "The Downtown City rail system runs above a series of various neighborhoods in Downtown City. There's a total of 8 neighborhoods and factories and each factory provides each neighborhood with electricity. We'll be passing an ID check point soon, so it's probably best to act natural."

Suddenly, the alarm went off inside the train and stopped as soon as it started. Jessica breathed a sigh of relief, "Whew...that was close. You never knew what kind of creeps will come out when that alarm goes off."

There was an awkward silence between the hedgehog and hamster before Jessica spoke, "I know! How about I make a fake ID for you, Russell?"

Russell let out a loud yawn, "Sorry, I'm getting kind of sleepy."

Jessica smiled, "Yeah, the mission was pretty tiring, you deserve a break."

Russell looked over to Vinnie who was looking out the train window, "Look at all that polluted land..."

Russell peered out the window, "A floating city, pretty unsettling scenery..."

Vinnie raised an eyebrow, "Huh? I wasn't expecting something like that to come out of you. You're just full of surprises."

Russell turned to the gecko, "Why don't the pets and people move up in this city?"

Vinnie shrugged, "Not sure. Maybe they don't have enough money or don't mind living here no matter how polluted it gets."

"It's just like this train, it goes only where it's rails take it." Russell replied, stretching, "Wake me up when we get to the station, okay?"

And with that, the hedgehog fell asleep. Half an hour passed and Vinnie shook Russell awake and they all got off at the Sector 7 train station.

The hamsters and Russell gathered around Vinnie as he spoke up, "That blast was nothing. Next one is gonna be bigger. All right, let's go back to the Littlest Pet Shop."

Russell nodded and raced after Vinnie and the hamsters. On the way there, he saw a save point and decided to save his progress. After saving, Russell dashed towards the Littlest Pet Shop and saw Vinnie waiting outside, "Took your spiky butt long enough! Your childhood friend is waiting, don't let her flood the place with her tears."

Russell blinked in confusion and walked into the Pet Shop and went to the play area to see a purple panda in a tank top and miniskirt sitting at a desk, "Penny Linghart, is...is that you?"

"Long time, no see. It's been five years, hasn't it, Russell?" Penny smiled sweetly at the hedgehog.

To be continued...


	2. The Promise And Factory 5

**NOTE:**_ In this chapter, you'll learn that Hubble plays the role if Marlene, Pete the rat is Johnny (one of Tifa's childhood friends), Fisher Biskit obviously is President Shinra and AVALANCHE is called ERUPTION. Feel free to read and review._

Russell smiled at the panda, "So, how is everything going, Penny?"

Penny smiled, "It's fine, some days are better than others. Pete's a regular customer here."

Russell blinked a few times, "Pete the rat, how's he doing?"

Penny shrugged, "He's a little sick of this place. He's rather go live somewhere tropical like Sydeel or Costa Del Howl."

Russell rubbed his head and groaned a bit. Penny blinked her light purple eyes a few times, "Are you feeling okay, Russell?"

"Yeah...I'm just a little tired, I guess." Russell replied, as he stretched his arms.

Penny tilted her head, "Did you fight with Vinnie during the mission?"

Russell nodded, "Kinda...that gecko sure knows how to push someone's buttons."

Penny nodded in agreement and suddenly, Vinnie burst through the door and Hubble, a little bird came out of hiding and threw her wings around Vinnie, "Daddy!"

Russell watched Hubble hug Vinnie as salty tears formed in his yellow-green eyes, ""I...was her daddy once..."

Vinnie turned to Russell and chuckled, "Sorry, Russy boy but in this AU, I'm Hubble's daddy and I'm a much more fun daddy than you'll ever be."

A small tear spilled down Russell's cheek and he quickly wiped it away before Vinnie noticed. Penny smiled at Vinnie, "How did the mission go?"

"Great!" Vinnie replied.

The gecko turned his attention to the three hamsters who were sitting at the table, "Take the dumbwaiter with me to the training room, we need to beef ourselves up for the next mission!"

And with that, Vinnie, Hubble and the hamsters hopped in the dumbwaiter and it went up. Penny smiled at Russell, "Would you like something to drink?"

Russell shrugged, "Water would be fine, thanks."

Penny smiled, "All right, just let me pour some for you." The panda poured the hedgehog a glass of water and slid it across the table. Russell caught the water in his paw as Penny spoke, "So, how dangerous was the mission, Russell?"

Russell shrugged, "It was nothing. Then again, I used to be a trained agent for Largest Ever Pet Shop." Suddenly, the hedgehog remembered the flower that he bought from the monkey and he pulled it out of his bag, "Here, Penny. This is for you."

Penny blushed, "Russell? Oh, it's so lovely! Maybe, I can fill the whole pet shop with flowers someday."

Russell smiled, "That would be great but you should be careful of flowers that attract bees. You wouldn't want a bunch of stung customers."

Penny nodded sadly, "Well...you do have a point there, Russell. It's probably best you talked to Vinnie about the mission now. He can get a little impatient."

And so, Russell stepped into the dumbwaiter and went up. Upon reaching the top floor, he saw the hamster trio gathered around a large TV and a news reporter was speaking on the TV, "Today, there was an explosion at the Number 1 factory, courtesy of terrorist group ERUPTION. Nearly 100 guards and soldiers died and Sector 1 is now without electricity..."

Suddenly, Vinnie turned off the TV, "News is so boring."

Russell blinked a few times, "Wait a sec, aren't you guys ERUPTION? Why didn't you tell me!"

Vinnie shrugged, "I keep forgetting the name of our group."

Russell rolled his eyes, "Seriously, just the fact that you're the leader of an eco-terrorist organization boggles my mind."

Walt turned to Russell, "Hey, Russell, would you like to hear something?"

Russell shrugged, "I guess so, what is it?"

Walt smiled, "Penny likes to cook and lot of food at she lets me sample it. Now look at me, I'm all big and roly poly! But Vinnie's quick to whip me into shape with his dance-offs."

Russell smiled, "Well, you really do have to stay fit if you go on missions like those."

Vinnie smirked and crossed his arms, "Say, Russell. Is their anyone in the Largest Pet Military after us now?"

Russell shook his head, "None, cause if there was, they would wipe the floor with you."

Vinnie glared at the hedgehog, "Yeah, I'm sure you're tough, most everyone in Largest Pet Military are, but don't forget your spiky butt is working for ERUPTION now. Don't get any ideas staying with the Largest Ever Pet Shop."

"Sticking with the Largest Ever Pet Shop!" Russell replied sharply, "You asked me a question and I answered it."

Suddenly, the dumbwaiter came back up and Penny got out, "Russell, is everything okay?"

Vinnie crossed his arms, "Let him go, Penny Linghart. It looks like he still misses Largest Ever Pet Shop."

"Shut up!" Russell hissed, "I DON'T CARE about the Biskits. But don't get me wrong, I DON'T CARE about ERUPTION or the environment, either."

The gecko glared at the hedgehog, "That's really cold of you, Russell. Oh well, it's your loss.

Sighing, Russell took the dumbwaiter down to the main floor and was about to walk out the door when he heard Penny's voice, "WAIT!"

Russell spun around and saw Penny getting off the dumbwaiter, "You can't just walk out on us like that! The planet's dying, Russell. Slowly but surely, it's dying."

Russell sighed, "So let Vinnie and his buddies do something about it, it has nothing to do with me."

Penny frowned and folded her arms, "What about the promise you gave me when we were little?"

Russell blinked, "Promise?"

Penny nodded, "Back on top of the water tower when we used to live in Nibbleheim, don't you remember, Russell?"

*Flashback, a young Russell and Penny are sitting on a water tower under the stars at night*

_Russell sighed as looked at his feet, "Come this spring, I'll be joining the Largest Pet Shop Military."_

_Penny gave Russell a worried look, "Russell, are you sure you want to do this?"_

_Russell nodded, "Yeah, and maybe someday I'll be in newspapers, just like Shahrukoth."_

_Penny blinked, "Shahrukoth? The Great Sharukoth?"_

_Russell nodded, "Of course, I'll have to train a lot first to get on his level."_

_Penny looked down at her feet and smiled, "Russell, I want to promise me something..."_

_"Yes?" Russell raised an eyebrow._

_"If I'm ever in trouble or in a bind, my hero will come and rescue me, right?" Penny asked._

_Russell blinked, "What?"_

_Penny made big sad panda eyes at the hedgehog, "Pretty please, Russell?"_

_Russell nodded, "Okay, I promise."_

*The camera panned up to show a shooting star zom across the sky and the flashback ends*

Russell shook his head, "Sorry, Penny. I'm no hero, so I can't really keep the promise. Besides, we were only kids back then."

Penny sighed, "But you got your childhood dream of joining Largest Pet Military, right?"

Russell nodded, "Yeah, I see your point..."

Suddenly the dumbwaiter came down and Vinnie got off again, reaching into his vest pocket and throwing some money at Russell, "By the way, here's your pay."

Russell picked up the money and rolled his yellow-green eyes, "$1,500? Don't make me laugh. Next mission you got lined up for me, double that ammount!"

Vinnie glared at Russell, "Sorry, Russy-boy but I need that money for Hubble's schooling!"

Penny smiled, "It's getting late, it's best we all take a nice, long sleep."

And so, Russell, Penny and Vinnie entered the dumbwaiter, went upstairs and fell asleep on the big pink bed.

Morning arrived and Russell awoke on the bed, hopping to his feet and noticing Penny and Vinnie weren't there, he took the dumbwaiter down to the main lobby where Penny, Vinnie and the hamster trio were waiting for him. Penny smiled at the hedgehog, "How did you sleep last night?"

"Vinnie's snoring kept me up..." Russell complained.

Penny leaned up to Russell and whispered in his ear, "Psst, Vinnie gets kind of edgy before he goes on missions so maybe you should keep quiet about that."

Russell nodded, "Okay."

"I'm a little scared, but I'm going too this time." Penny said with a big smile on her face.

Vinnie turned to Russell, "Hey, Russell, can you teach me how to use Materia? Do I lick it for good luck or do I play marbles with it?"

Russell rolled his eyes, "You know what, Vinnie? Just skip it, I'll let you figure it out on your own."

Vinnie blinked, "You don't think I'm smart enough?"

Penny tried to be as polite as possible with the gecko, "What he means is, you should probably leave the magic to Russell and I."

Vinnie shrugged, "All right then, I guess it's time we moved out."

Penny rubbed her chin, "It's probably best we prepare ourselves for this mission. We should go shopping first."

Russell nodded in agreement and the three went around, upgrading Materia and armor. Pretty soon, they all boarded the train and went off towards the number 5 factory. While they were on the train, Vinnie turned to Walt, Jessica and Brad, "This doesn't look like a private car so you should put on disguises and split up."

The hamsters nodded and dashed off to the other cars of the train and the train started to run. The same ferret from the last train ride looked over and saw the hedgehog, gecko and panda, "Hoo boy, them again. I really don't like the look of them."

Suddenly, Vinnie dashed up to the ferret and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, "What did you say?!"

The ferret whimpered, "I...I just saw the news yesterday about ERUPTION and...I heard they were planning another attack on a factory..."

Vinnie pointed his gun-arm at the ferret, "You working for the Biskits?"

Tears began sliding down the ferret's muzzle as he quivered all over, "P-p-please don't hurt me..."

Penny rushed up to Vinnie, "Calm down, Vinnie. You're scaring him."

Vinnie crossed his arms, "You're lucky Penny was here to save your sorry butt."

Russell looked over at Vinnie, "So what factory are we blowing up next?"

Vinnie chuckled, "You sound awfully serious about your business. All right, we're blowing up Factory Number 5."

Russell blinked, "That doesn't make sense, shouldn't we blow up Factory Number 2?"

Vinnie scratched his head, "Wait...5 comes right after 1, right?"

Russell and Penny facepalmed in unison and the panda spoke up, "You know, the security is pretty tight at the Sector 4 ID checkpoint. They won't accept fake IDs."

As if on cue, the alarm on the train started blaring and Vinnie growled in anger, "Uh oh...looks like someone blew it! Quick, Russell and Penny, let's go to the end of the line!"

And so, the hedgehog, gecko and panda dashed through the train as fast as they could to the other end before security could catch them. They eventually got to the last train car and noticed the door to the train was open as it was still running. Russell sighed, "Looks like we have no choice but to jump off."

"I'll go first." Vinnie volunteered, jumping out of the still moving train and landing in the subway, "I'M OKAY!"

Penny turned to Russell, "Would you like to go first?"

Russell gulped and curled up into a ball, "Well, here goes nothing!"

Russell rolled off the train and gently into the subway. Penny turned and looked at the hamster trio, "The three of you take care and meet us at the factory, all right?"

The hamsters nodded and Penny timidly hopped off the train. She ran up to Vinnie and Russell uncurled himself. The panda looked at the hedgehog and gecko, "Is everyone all right?"

Russell brushed himself off, "Yeah, I'm fine. How about you, Vinnie?"

Vinnie rubbed his head, "I...uh, kinda bonked my head back there.."

Russell looked around, "If we just keep going down this tunnel, we should be able to find the factory."

Penny nodded, "Russell has a point, Vinnie"

Suddenly, a trio of green scorpionlike creatures fell from the ceiling and onto the tracks. Russell drew his quill sword as Penny whimpered, "What...what are those things?"

"Grashtrikes." Russell replied, "They may look venomonus but they really aren't. You just gotta worry about their claws in front and they never attack with their tails."

Penny turned to Russell, "How do you know so much about all these monsters?"

"I was given a bestiary while I was in the Largest Pet Military." Russell replied as he slashed one of the Grastrike's tails off.

Suddenly one of the other Grashtrikes lept up and attached itself to Vinnie's face. The gecko let out a girly scream, "AAAAAH! OH MY GOD! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Vinnie screamed again as the scorpion-like creature began spinning a silk web all over him.

Russell blinked, "Oooh, yeah. They also spin webs on you and it kinda slows you down."

Penny grabbed the Grashtrike off Vinnie's face and slammed it on the ground, "Get off my friend! You...MEANIE BUG!"

Vinnie groaned and started peeling the silk off himself, "Ugh...this is not my idea of a fun time!"

Suddenly, one of the Grashtrikes lept out and stabbed Russell in the gut with its claws. The hedgehog fell back, blood seeping from his stomach wound and another Grashtrike appeared before Vinnie. The gecko spun around and began shooting at the scorpion-bug with his gun arm, "Oh no, you're not gonna spin silk on me THIS time!" The Grashtrike fell dead, riddled with bullets from Vinnie's gun.

Penny ran up to Russell and healed his stomach wound with a cure spell. Russell smiled, "Thanks, Penny. Now to finish this!" The hedgehog used his quill sword to neatly decapitate the tailless Grashtrike and the hedgehog, gecko and panda did a little victory dance.

As the three turned and walked down the subway, the Grashtrike Penny slammed on the ground got up and lept at Penny, claws raised. Just in time, the panda executed a roundhouse kick which sent the Grashtrike flying clear across the subway while Russell and Vinnie watched it awe. Vinnie gasped, "Remind me never to get in a dance-off against you, Penny Linghart."

Penny shrugged, "It's okay, I take martial arts on the side of dance lessons."

Russell smiled, "Let's continue down the tunnel."

And so, the three continued down the subway tunnel and saw a door with laser beams guarding it. Russell sighed, "Can't go through there, we'd sound the alarm."

Penny looked over to the left and saw a crawlspace, "Hey, guys, I think I found something."

Vinnie looked at the crawlspace, "Ugh, I hate crawlspaces, they give me the creeps!"

Russell sighed, "At this point, it's the only way we're gonna get to that factory so we might as well go down."

The hedgehog curled up into a ball and rolled into the crawlspace and was soon followed by a reluctant Vinnie. Penny tried going in but her large head got stuck in the vent, "Uh oh...uh...guys, it appears that my head is...stuck."

Tears began to flood Penny's eyes and she started whimpering. Vinnie smiled as he pulled some hair gel from his vest, "Lucky I carry this around."

Russell blinked a few times, "Vinnie, you're a genius!"

The lizard rubbed his head, "I am?"

Russell nodded, "We'll use the gel to lube up Penny so she can slide right on out!"

The hedgehog took the gecko's hair gel and spread it on the side of the panda's head. Russell grabbed Penny by her ankles and pulled her out of the duct and she fell into the crawlspace with Russell and Vinnie. "Thank you so much!" Penny shouted as she hugged Russell tightly.

As soon as Russell was released, he was gasping for air, "You're...welcome...Penny Linghart..."

And so the three walked through the crawlspace and down a series of ladders. As Vinnie climbed down a ladder, he turned his attention to see a pudgy blue bird flying about slowly in the storage room and he gasped, "Penny Linghart, take a look at THAT thing."

The panda looked over to the bird, "So? It's just a little blue bird, Vinnie. Just leave it alone."

Vinnie squeed a little, "But, IT'S SO CUTE! It looks like a huggable blue twinkie with wings! I just wanna squeeze it!"

And with that, Vinnie jumped off the ladder and ran in the general direction of the blue bird thing. Penny tapped Russell on the shoulder and the hedgehog turned and saw the gecko chasing after the blue bird, "NO, VINNIE! THAT'S A BLUGU! IT'LL PUT YOU TO SLEEP WITH-"

As if on cue, Vinnie captured the Blugu and it blew bubbles all over the lizard. "...Hell Bubbles..." Russell finished his sentence as he facepalmed and Vinnie fell fast asleep.

Penny turned to Russell, "We must help him."

Russell rolled his eyes, "All right, if you say so."

The hedgehog and panda jumped off the ladder and ran up to Vinnie who was sleeping on the ground with a snot bubble coming out of his left nostril. Penny picked the lizard up and heaved him over her shoulder. Suddenly, Russell looked up and saw a huge flock of about 3 dozen angry Blugu glaring down at them. Russell slowly turned his head to Penny, "Run!"

And so, Russell and Penny (holding a sleeping Vinnie) made a mad dash for a nearby ladder and climbed up it at breakneck speed into an air duct. Russell sealed the duck just in time as a bunch of Blugu rammed into it. The hedgehog and panda were sweating and panting uncontrollably. Penny turned her attention over to Jessica who was at the other end of the duct.

Jessica sadly approached Russell, "The ID scan on the train was my fault, Russell. Sorry about it, I just wanted to make a special ID for you."

Russell sighed, "It's all right, Jessica. But next time, you should ask me if I want a fake ID or not."

Penny took a map out and looked at it, "According to this map, we're pretty close to Factory 5. We just go down the next ladder and past another storage space."

"Is there a save point nearby?" Russell asked.

Penny nodded, "It'll be the perfect place to save our game and wake Vinnie up."

And so, Russell and Penny carried a sleeping Vinnie down the ladder and at the bottom they were greeted by Brad, "I'll leave the rest to you, just plant the bomb and we'll meet back up at the Littlest Pet Shop."

And with that, Brad took off the the hedgehog and panda made a dash for the save point. They reached the save point and Russell slapped Vinnie awake, "Wakey, wakey!"

Suddenly's Vinnie's eyes snapped open and he sprung awake, "Hey, Russell. What happened?"

"You hugged a flying blue twinkie." Penny replied dryly, crossing her arms in slight irritation.

Vinnie shrugged, "Oh well, I'm still alive, aren't I?"

Russell rolled his eyes, "It seems that every time we run into a group of monsters, your IQ drops by 10 points, Vinnie."

Vinnie ignored the orange hedgehog's snide remark and the three pets saved their game. Climbing the ladder to the factory entrance, Russell, Vinnie and Penny found themselves at the top of a tall slide. Laughing, the hedgehog, gecko and panda slid down the slide and into the factory.

"Weeee! That was fun!" Penny giggled as she hit the bottom. Suddenly, from around the corner, a pair of strange green and yellow robots with hook hands and sprinkler head and a red panther with a tentacle on the back of its head dashed at the three. Russell quickly drew his quill sword, "Looks like another battle!"

Vinnie turned to Russell, "What are they?"

"The green guys are Smoggers, they spit clouds of poison gas at you. The red thing is a Blood Taste, a vampiric panther beast." Russell explained.

One of the Smoggers rushed forward and punched Penny ling hard in the gut with it's hook hand. Tears filled the panda's eyes and she burst out sobbing, her tears drenching the Smogger, causing it to short circuit and die.

Meanwhile, Vinnie was facing the Blood Taste, dodging its whipping tentacle with a series of dance steps. The gecko jumped back about 20 feet and the red panther rushed up to him, lunging at him and biting him on the arm. Vinnie's limit gauge was now full and he blasted the Blood Taste with a large fireball from his gun arm, killing it instantly.

Russell ran up to the other Smogger and impaled it on his quill. Still alive, the Smogger hoisted Russell up and belched a cloud of poison gas directly in his face. The hedgehog groaned and fell limp. Penny noticed this and rushed up to the green robot, punching it repeatedly before tearing it in half, just as she did with the chair that one time.

Penny pulled Russell's sword out of the smogger and dashed up to the hedgehog with big panda tears rolling down her face, "Oh no, Russell!"

Russell groaned and pointed to a nearby andidote the Smogger dropped. Penny opened the antidote and poured it down the hedgehog's throat. The three did a victory dance and continued through the factory and through a door. Vinnie looked about the place, "Is it just me or am I getting deja vu here?"

"All the factories in Downtown City have the same design." Russell replied, "You of all pets should know that."

"Right." Vinnie nodded dumbly as they went into the next room and climbed down a ladder to a save point.

Penny looked at the hedgehog and gecko, "I don't know about you but that last fight was pretty tiring. Let's rest up and save our game, okay?"

Russell and Vinnie nodded and saved at the save point and healed up a little. Afterwards, they crossed the bridge and stood in front of the factory's core. Suddenly, Russell closed his eyes as a flashback came to him.

*Flashback, Penny Linghart is kneeling over her dead father with tears dripping down her muzzle*

_"Daddy? Did...did...Shahrukoth do this to you?" Clenching her fists, the panda shouted in anger, "Shahrukoth...Biskits...Largest Ever Pet Shop...factories...I HATE THEM ALL!"_

_And with that, Penny grabbed the bollywood mongoose's sword and stormed in after him._

*Flashback ends*

Penny blinked a few times, "Russell, are you okay?"

Russell shook his head rapidly and snapped to his senses, "Yeah...I'm fine. Let's just get this job done, okay?"

Vinnie nodded and handed Russell the bomb, "You set the bomb while Penny and I watch, okay?"

Russell nodded, "All right." The hedgehog placed the bomb on the core and pressed it, "Okay, we have 30 minutes to get out of here this time."

And so, the hedgehog, gecko and panda dashed across the bridge, past the save point, up the ladder and across the pipe. They hurried through the next room to the main room of the factory and they climbed up a couple flights of stairs. As they reached the elevator, they were approached by a pair of red scuba divers with steel masks and guns on their hands, "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Vinnie groaned, "Aw, great. More Grunts!"

"Actually, those are Special Combatants." Russell corrected Vinnie as he drew his quill, ready for battle.

One of the Special Combatants shot a laser from his gun hand at Penny and the panda let out a shreik when the laser singed her fur. Russell decided now was a good time to put his Ice materia to use so he cast ice and one of the combatants slid on the icy floor and tumbled down the flight of stairs. Meanwhile, Vinnie faced against the other combatant who kept dodging his gunfire. Russell healed Penny's wound with a Cure spell and Penny tackled the other combatant, restraining him as Vinnie fired a round of bullets into the red scuba-man's chest. Both combatants were down and the three entered the elevator and pressed to up button. Once they made their way to the top floor, they collected items from a few treasure chests and Vinnie pounded on a sealed door, "Ugh, this door just won't open!"

Russell turned his attention to a nearby control panel with three buttons, "Maybe that'll open the door."

Penny grinned, "Good idea, Russell!"

And so, the hedgehog, gecko and panda gathered around the control panel. Russell turned to the other two, "All right, on the count of 3, we press these buttons all at once, got it?"

Vinnie and Penny nodded, "Got it."

"One...two...THREE!" And with that, Russell, Vinnie and Penny hit all three buttons simultaneously and the door opened. Penny gazed into the next room, "Look, a save point! Let's save our progress and evacuate into the streets."

Russell nodded, "Good idea, Penny. Let's save."

After saving, the pets climbed down some stairs and onto a bridge. By the time they got to the end of the bridge, they were surrounded by police dogs. Vinnie growled, "Crud, looks like we're in a trap."

Suddenly, Fisher Biskit walked from the northern end of the T shaped bridge. Penny spun around and faced Russell, "Is that...Fisher Biskit? What's he doing here?"

Fisher smirked as he approached Russell, "Hmph...long time, no see, traitor. What was your name before you joined ERUPTION?"

Russell glared at the rich man before him, "Russell."

Fisher chuckled a bit, "Forgive me if I forget names but...the only soldier that really mattered in the Largest Pet Military was Shahrukoth. Yes, Shahrukoth...now HE was something else."

Vinnie shook his fist at Fisher, "None of that matters because this place is going to be blown sky high!"

Fisher smirked, "And what a waste of fireworks to kill off vermin like you."

"VERMIN!?" Vinnie shouted, "YOU'RE the vermin! You and your prissy little Biskit daughters poisoning the land and sky. That makes you KING VERMIN, so shut up, you butthead!"

Fisher yawned, "You know, you're really begining to bore me."

Suddenly, he snapped his fingers and a buzzing noise was heard. Monban zoomed by and started cornering Penny and Vinnie. Fisher chuckled, "I got a playmate for all of you, say hello to upgraded Monban. Now if you excuse me, I have a dinner to attend."

Penny whimpered a little as Monban closed in on her and Vinnie, "Is...is that thing part of the Largest Pet Shop army?"

Russell nodded as he drew his quill, "That's what Monban was designed for, yes."

Vinnie pointed his gun arm at the security robot, "I don't care where he comes from cause I'm gonna bust him up!"

The boss battle music "Still More Fighting" started playing in the background as Russell dashed forward and slashed Monban with his quill. Penny Linghart began casting a spell and shot a bolt of lightning down on the security bot. Suddenly, Monban turned around and rammed into Penny, knocking her over and triggering her limit break. Pulling out her dancing ribbon, the panda entangled Monban in it, paralyzing him. Vinnie then shot at Monban while he was still paralyzed and Russell scored a quick hit, stabbing his quill sword directly into the security bot's motor.

The battle ended just as soon as it started and Monban short circuited. Suddenly, Monban exploded into a huge ball of fire and took out part of the bridge with him. When the smoke cleared, Penny and Vinnie saw Russell hanging by a wire. Vinnie turned to Penny, "Penny, this place is gonna blow! We gotta get out of here."

Penny turned to Vinnie with tears in her eyes, "But...Vinnie, what about Russell?"

Vinnie shook his head, "There's nothing I can do..."

Penny whimpered as big tears started streaming down her face, "Russell, please don't die! There's still so much I want to tell you!"

Russell was starting to panic, "I don't know how much longer I can hold on, guys! Vinnie, promise you'll take care of Penny for me!"

Vinnie nodded, "Okay. You sure you'll be okay?"

Russell rolled his eyes, "Of course I'll be okay, I think. Depends if there's a bed at the bottom of this bridge..."

Suddenly, a blast was heard, the bridge shook and Russell let go. A distraught Penny watched the hedgehog free fall into the abyss and Vinnie had to pull her back from going in after him. Penny broke down sobbing and Vinnie hugged her, "Don't worry, Penny Linghart...I think his quills would break his fall anyway."

To be continued...


	3. The Flower Monkey Of The Slums

**NOTE:** _Well, in this chapter, you'll learn that Minka Mark plays the role of Aeris Gainsborough. Only Minka is much more badass. Shivers the squirrel from "Blythe's Pet Project" is Reno of the Turks (or Spies here). Seriously, Shivers reminds me very much of Reno for some reason, maybe its his red hair, jerkish but laid back and funny attitude and snarkiness. Both Reno and Shivers can give off a love/hate sort of vibe. Twombly can apparently talk to animals here and plays the role of Aeris' stepmother, Elmyra (Twombly is Minka's owner in this canon). Also, Blythe Baxter is a posthumous character in the form of Cloud's Mother (She is Russell's owner in this canon). Finally, Digby will be playing the role of Zack Fair. Also, there's some amusing role reversal of Cloud/Russell and Minka/Aeris in this chapter (The attic and rooftop scene)._

"Hellooooo...Yooo-hoo...WAKEY WAKEY!"

Russell slowly opened his tired eyes to see a grinning pink monkey staring at him, "Ugh...what happened?"

"You fell from the sky and landed in my art studio, silly!" The pink monkey giggled.

The hedgehog looked around himself and saw buckets of paint and splatters of paint of all different colors, "How on Earth can you work in a place that's so...messy?"

The monkey giggled, "Oh, I just tune everything out and let my muse do the work."

Russel shook his head, "That lifestyle philosophy sounds so chaotic, I don't think I could live like that."

The monkey smiled at Russell, "So, do you remember me?"

Russell rubbed his chin a bit, "Yeah...weren't you selling flowers?"

The monkey smiled, "Yeah, I was. Thanks for remembering me. By the way, I'm Minka Marksborough."

Russell shook the monkey's hand, "I'm Russell Fergustrife. I used to be a soldier for Largest Ever Pet Shop."

Meanwhile, a squirrel with teal eyes and macaroni orange fur wearing a business suit walked into the studio and watched the two converse.

Minka smiled at Russell, "By the way, do you have any materia? I love materia, it's so round and shiny!"

Russell nodded as he showed the monkey his materia, "Yes, some."

Minka smiled, "I have a materia that used to belong to my mother but it really isn't good for anything except playing marbles."

Russell blinked, "Not good for anything? You probably just don't know how to use it yet."

Minka shook her head, "Nope, my mom told me herself. It's really more of a keepsake than anything."

Suddenly, Russell could feel the squirrel's eyes watching him and he looked at Minka, "You know, Minka...I think someone is watching us..."

The monkey and hedgehog turned and looked at the squirrel, "Hey, I think I know you from somewhere...you look familiar...that uniform..."

Suddenly a few police dogs ganged around the squirrel and one spoke up, "Hey, this guy's a little weird. Want us to take him out, Shivers?"

Shivers ran his paw through his fur, "Haven't decided on it."

Minka turned to Russell, "Who is that?"

"That's Shivers, he's a spy who works for Largest Ever Pet Shop." Russell explained.

Minka turned to Shivers, "Please don't fight in here, you'll ruin my artwork. If you really want to fight each other, take it outside!"

Shivers shrugged, "All right, if you say so." And with that Russell and Minka dashed up the stairs and into the attic of the studio. Shivers slowly walked after them and turned to face the police dogs, "That...monkey. There's something special about her. Her eyes had a strange glow to them. Make sure to capture her and oh, don't step on her artwork."

Shivers turned and slowly walked after Russell and Minka while one of the police dogs shouted out, "Hey, Shivers, you just stepped on her artwork! You might get lead based poisoning if you don't wash your paws!"

Russell and Minka walked to the end of a plank and jumped across a pipe, running up a flight of stairs. Suddenly, a pair of red hedgehog creatures with purple quills and green eyes skittered up behind them and one tackled Russell, entangling their spikes together. Russell let out a girly scream, "Something is on my back! Somethings on my back, Minka! Kill it kill kit kill it!"

Minka pulled out her staff and pried the Hegehog Pie off Russell's back, "Oh yeah, these guys sometimes show up and mess up my artwork."

"Hedgehog Pies..." Russell growled as he drew his quill sword, "They give my kind a bad name!"

Minka turned to Russell, "So is it go time?"

Russell nodded, "Yes, Minka. It's go time."

Minka readied her staff and rushed at one of the Hedgehog Pies, swinging her staff like a golf club, "FOUR!" The monkey whacked the Hedgehog Pie and it flew clear into the wall of the studio attic.

The other Hedgehog Pie did a little dance and cast a fire spell on Minka which she quickly blocked with her staff. Russell quickly dashed forward and sliced the Hedgehog Pie in two. The hedgehog and monkey did a victory dance and proceeded going up the stairs. Eventually, the two had to jump over a gap in the floor and Minka skillfully jumped over it. Russell attempted to jump over it but tripped and slid down the pipe as Shivers and the police dogs burst through the door. Shivers pointed to Russell and barked an order for the police dogs, "ARREST THAT HEDGEHOG!"

Minka sighed but noticed some barrels at the very top of the attic, "Hang pn, Russell. I have an idea." The monkey swung up to the attic and tossed one of the barrels down. It hit a police dog and knocked him unconscious, "BULLSEYE!"

Russell continued to climb the stairs and was approached by another police dog but Minka rolled another barrel down the stairs, knocking the dog over and Russell continued to climb when another police dog came around the corner, "I got this one, Minka!" The orange hedgehog shouted as he drew his quill sword. Russell made quick work of the police dog and jumped over the gap, following Minka to the roof.

Shivers watched them escape and shook his fist at them, "I'll take you two into custody someday!"

Meanwhile, Russell and Minka were standing on the roof of the art studio and the monkey giggled, "Haha, they're still after me."

Russell turned to face Minka, "That was pretty dangerous back there, are you sure the slums are safe?"

Minka shrugged, "I grew up here, I'm used to all the danger. Hedgehog Pies, Whole Eaters, even the local gang members don't really faze me too much."

"You sound pretty tough." Russell replied, in awe.

Minka smiled, "Meh, it's only for the sake of survival. Come on, I'll lead you to my house, Russell."

And so, the monkey and hedgehog hopped across the rooftops of the slums. Minka was agile and full of energy and made it across with no sweat. Russell, on the other hand was slow and was out of breath when he caught up to Minka, "Wait up, Minka!"

Minka crossed her arms, "That's weird, I thought you were supposed to be a top class soldier..."

Russell frowned, "I am, but you just have way too much energy!"

Minka shrugged, "Well, what can I say? I always put extra sugar in my coffee every morning."

Russell roled his yellow-green eyes, "So that's why you're so hyper..."

And so, the hedgehog and monkey hopped off the roofs and onto the streets. Minka pointed down the alley, "My house is that way. Come on, Russell!"

Minka grabbed Russell by the arm and ran down the street with him when suddenly, a couple rats wearing vests, duck masks and gloves jumped out at the two. One of the rats chuckled, "Come on, Taylor, let's see what we can steal from these guys."

Taylor, the other rat nodded, "If you say so, George!"

Russell drew his quill and Minka readied her staff. George, one of the vice rats ran up to Minka and stole a potion from her. Russell rushed up to George and slashed him across the neck, nearly decapitating him. Taylor watched his partner fall and tears welled up in his eyes as he knelt before his friend, "George...no..."

Russell put his quill sword away and bowed his head, "I'm sorry..."

Taylor took off his mask and sobbed as warm tears ran down his face, "George..." The vice rat sniffled and glared at Russell, "I won't forget this, you monster!"

And with that, the other vice rat, Taylor dashed off sobbing. For once, Russell and Minka did not do a victory dance. They just hung their heads in silence. Russell sighed, "Is it wrong that I feel kinda bad for that guy?"

Minka sighed, "It was self-defense, Russell. You did what you had to do..."

Russell sighed and the two ran up to a nearby save point and saved their game. The hedgehog and monkey made their way out of the alley and into the a square that had a series of shops.

Minka pointed over to a nearby drainage pipe, "Oh yeah, there's this one guy in there I sometimes visit but he's gotten all sick all of a sudden. Why don't we visit him?"

Russell raised an eyebrow, "But what about germs?"

Minka rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on, Russell, you'll be fine. Just have a look with me."

Russell and Minka entered the pipe and saw a fruit bat inside of it, mumbling. Minka turned to Russell, "Can you help him?"

Russell looked over the bat and shook his head, "Sorry, but I'm no humanarian, I'm just an animal."

Minka sighed, "I guess it just can't be helped."

After some shopping and upgrading equipment, Russell and Minka walked down the street and they turned and faced a large house. It was hexagonal in shape and nearby stood a beautiful garden. Minka smiled, "Yep, this is my house, Russell. Let's see if my owner is home."

Russell blinked, "You have an owner? And I'm surprised your house looks so...nice even though it's in a bad part of town."

Minka opened the door and the hedgehog and monkey were greeted by an old lady with medium length gray hair, a polka dot dress and green eyes, "Welcome back, Minka."

Minka smiled, "Hey, Twombly, I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Russell Fergustrife."

"Pleasure to meet you, Twombly." Russell spoke as he shook the old woman's hand, "I've helped Minka out a little, I guess you could say I was her bodyguard."

Minka crossed her arms and glared at Russell, "Actually, I think it was the other way around. So, Russell, where do you plan to go?"

"Actually, I was thinking of going to the Littlest Pet Shop in Sector 7. It's a bar owned by my friend, Penny." Russell replied with a smile.

Minka smiled, "Is Penny your girlfriend?"

Russell shrugged, "We've been on and off. I lost contact with her for about 5 years and recently met up with her again."

Minka turned to Twombly, "Okay, Twombly! I'm gonna get ready to go right now!"

Twombly crossed her arms, "But, Minka, it's getting late. You should be asleep by the time you'd make it to Sector 7 and besides,you don't even know if that place has a bed. If you really must leave with Russell, make sure you do it bright up and early tomorrow morning, okay?"

Minka sighed, "Okay, Twombly. I'll get ready for bed." And so, Minka walked up to the stairs to her bedroom.

Twombly turned to Russell, "Your eyes have an odd glow to them. Are you from Largest Pet Military?"

Russell nodded, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

Twombly sighed, "The last thing Minka needs is to have her heart broken again. You can stay the night, there's a spare room but make sure you leave in the morning without Minka knowing, all right?"

Russell nodded, "All right."

And so, the hedgehog went up the stairs and into the guest bedroom, collapsing on the big, comfy bed and resting his head on the pillow. He looked around the room and saw Minka's abstract artwork hanging on the wall. Slowly closing his eyes, the hedgehog drifted off to sleep and began to dream of life with his old owner.

*Flashback, Russell is laying in bed at Blythe's place*

_Blythe turned to Russell and spoke, "You've grown a lot, haven't you, Russell?"_

_Russell nodded, "Yeah, I guess have."_

_Blythe smiled, "I bet the girls never leave you alone. Maybe someday you'll settle down and find another girl hedgehog, one who is the right type for you."_

_Russell sighed, "Sorry, but I'm not interested."_

*Flashback ends and Russell wakes up*

Russell rubbed his eyes and looked at a nearby clock on the wall. It was almost morning. Slowly getting to his feet, the hedgehog crept past Minka's room and headed down the stairs as quietly as possible. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he noticed that Twombly wasn't in the house. Perhaps she was out shopping. Russell shrugged to himself, went outside and used the nearby save point.

After saving, he went through the slums and in the direction of Sector 6. Eventually, he came to a door to the Sector 6 construction site and saw Minka standing there with her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face, "Trying to sneak out without me, huh?"

Russell shrugged, "Better safe than sorry."

Minka rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on! What's that supposed to mean, anyway? We're both going to the Littlest Pet Shop, okay?"

Russell sighed, "All right, if you say so, Minka."

And so, the hedgehog and monkey entered the construction site with seemed to be abandoned. Minka jumped up on a crane and began swinging from it. Russell's eyes widened, "Get off of that, Minka! You'll hurt yourself!"

Minka rolled her eyes, "You're way too serious, Russell! Why don't you lighten up and enjoy life a little?"

"I would enjoy life if-" Russell began but he was interrupted when a creature tackled him to the ground with incredible force. Opening his eyes, Russell's vision began to clear and he saw what appeared to be an oversized lamprey with spider legs standing on his chest, "WHOLE EATER!" The hedgehog shrieked.

Instantly Minka jumped off the crane and whacked the Whole Eater off Russell's chest with her staff when another Whole Eater charged from the shadows at the monkey, knocking her down.

Russell got up and drew his sword as he caught a couple more Whole Eaters in his peripheral vision, "Looks like it's go-time!"

Russell dashed up to the Whole Eater that was attacking Minka and slashed it with his quill sword, cutting the creature in two. Russell and Minka turned around and faced the other 2 Whole Eaters approaching them. Instantly, Minka dashed up to one of them and rammed her staff into its mouth and out its body. She raised her staff, the Whole Eater still impaled on it and used it to whack the other Whole Eater in Russell's general direction. The hedgehog curled up into a ball and the second the Whole Eater landed on him, it impaled itself on his quills.

Russell peeled the dead Whole Eater off his spiky back and looked like he was going to throw up. Minka casually put her staff away and Russell gave her a weird look, "A dead Whole Eater is still impaled on your staff. Are you positive you don't want to take it off?"

Minka shrugged, "I'm gonna replace the staff anyway, silly. The Swapmeet has Mythril Rods on sale for a good price."

"That is so disgusting..." Russell remarked, a little creeped out by Minka toting the monster carcass around on her staff.

The two cautiously walked through the construction site with no signs of anymore Whole Eaters but then they came across an odd-looking house. Minka walked up on it and knocked on the door, "Yoohoo, anybody home?"

Russell blinked, "You really have to go to the bathroom THAT bad, Minka?"

Minka nodded, "I'll be quick, don't worry...I just have to pee."

Suddenly, the house jumped off the ground and hit Russell and Minka with a shockwave of energy. A skull reared its head from the side of the house and suddenly, limbs began sprouting from the roof and legs sprouted from the bottom.

Minka gazed at the thing in complete horror, "Okay...I just went."

"Let's go!" Russell drew his quill sword and Minka drew her staff which still had the dead Whole Eater impaled on it. Minka jumped up and smacked the Hell House's skull head repeatedly with her staff before it rammed her into a nearby lamp post, triggering her limit break. The Hell House then hopped up and landed roof-first on Russell, using its Hell Press attack and his limit gauge filled up as well. Russell turned to Minka, "Minka, your limit bar is full! Unleash your energy.

"Okay, Russell!" Minka shouted as she whipped out her paintbrush. Instantly, a healing mist shot out of her brush and healed the monkey and hedgehog's wounds.

Russell then decided it was time for him to unleash his own limit break. The hedgehog lept up in the air and came down on the Hell House with his quill-sword, splitting it in half and killing it.

Minka smirked and crossed her arms, "That's what you get for messing with the wrong pets!"

Russell smiled as he put his sword away, "The park is only a few steps away, how about we rest there? That Hell House sure took a lot out of us."

Minka nodded, "All right."

And so, they exited the construction site and went into the park. Minka hopped up on the top of the slide which had a cat's face on it, "Come on up, Russell, there's a pretty good view up here."

"Yeah, of all the pollution and smog of Downtown City." Russell said sarcastically as he frowned.

Minka chuckled a bit as Russell joined her on top of the cat slide. The pink monkey turned to the hedgehog, "What rank were you in the Largest Pet Military?"

Russell smiled, "First class."

"The same as him." Minka replied.

Russell blinked, "Who?"

"My first boyfriend." Minka replied, a dreamy look in her bright blue eyes as she remembered her first love, Digby Fair.

Russell turned to Minka, "What was his name? I probably knew him if that was the case."

Minka shook her head, "It doesn't really matter now, I haven't heard from him in years."

Suddenly, a nearby gate opened and Russell and Minka turned their attention to a horse-drawn carriage where a panda in a green dress was. Russell rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly, "Penny Linghart?"

Minka turned to Russell, "So that's what Penny looks like? She seems kind of odd."

Russell narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin, "Penny was headed to the Swapmeet. Don Lyedecker lives there."

Minka raised an eyebrow, "Whose Don Lyedecker?"

"A complete sleazeball. Come on, Minka. Let's go help Penny!" Russell shouted and they both hopped off the cat slide and headed for the Swapmeet.

To be continued...


End file.
